Top Ten 2017/2018 FPL Keepers: No. 6 Roberto Firmino

For the next two weeks Micah Heath is counting down the Top 10 most valuable players in a keeper league. Never heard of a fantasy Premier League keeper league? The concept is simple – each season every manager in your draft league is allowed to designate a handful of players who will remain on their roster next season. Those players are never made available to the rest of the league during your draft for the next season.

Of course, there are myriad versions of draft keeper leagues (including draft FPL dynasty leagues where your entire roster is carried over from one season to the next with only a supplemental draft each summer). We have avoided the drama and asked Micah to focus mostly on value next season, but also weigh the long-term potential of each player. There will be one new player discussed each day – concluding with No. 1 on Friday March 24 and Micah appearing on the March 28 edition of Talkin Togga!

Roberto Firmino – Liverpool, Forward, Age 25

Liverpool’s dynamic trio of Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino are the reason the Reds under Jurgen Klopp have tallied more goals, 60, than any other EPL team during the 2016/2017 campaign. Equipped with a man bun and a perfect set of choppers, Roberto Firmino is a multi-tasking forward who can play as a center forward or from the left as a secondary striker.

You can find Firmino interchanging positions with the likes of Sadio Mane and Divock Origi and acting as Jurgen Klopp’s first line of defense. This season Firmino has recorded double digit fantasy points in 18 of his 26 appearances for an average of 14.96 PPM, which is sixth among all forwards. In regards to overall points Firmino is third among forwards and sixth among all players.

The Brazilian is tied for 10th among forwards with nine goals, sixth in assists (7), sixth in shots on target (34), second in key passes (55), eighth in successful take ons (45), second in interceptions (18), and first in tackles won (34). Firmino is a complete player who is not entirely dependent on goals in order to be a valuable fantasy asset. On eight different occasions this year Firmino has achieved a double digit fantasy output without the help of an assist or a goal. Combined, Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, and Harry Kane have achieved eight double digit fantasy outputs without the aide of an assist or a goal. Firmino might not be best overall forward, but he may just be the most consistent from week to week.